Bricklaying machine



Nov. 9 1926..

J. THOMSON BRICKLAYING MACHINE Filed pril 2, 1925 8 Sheet-Shet) 1 Nov. 9 1926.

Filed 8 Sheets Sheet 2 pril 2. 1925 Nov. 9 1926.

J. THOMSON BRICKLAYING MACHINE Filed pril 2, 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet J. THOMSON BRIGKLAYING MACHINE F l pril 2, 1925 8 Sheets Sheet 4 Nov. 9 1926.

J. THOMSON BRICKLAYING MACHINE Filed April 2,

1925 8 SheetS-She'et 5 Nov. 9 1926. 1,606,001

J. THOMSON BRICKLAYING MACHINE Filed pril 2, 1925 8 Sheets-Sheet e dig z Tana;

n a I F v 1 W0 ,/q (96 43 mwmmxgymm be advanced proper amounts by. the mere PatentedNo'v. 9, 1926.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Joan" rnouson. or omen e0 mum.

:smcxmme mom.

Application mea- April 2, 1025. Serial No. 20,082.-

My invention relates to brick-laying machines, and the general object of the invention is to produce a machine of improved type which will be lar ely automatic in its character.- One of t e specific objects of. the invention is to provide a machine in which a brick-setting carriage containing both bricks and mortar will travel upon a carrier frame which will be vertically adjustable to enable the carria e to be elevated each time a new course of irrick is to be laid. The carrienframe is supported upon a stations main frame and is provided with rate at mechanism by which the carrier frame may be elevated in the manner stated. p

Another object is to provide an improved ratchet mechanism. b which the carrier frame may be elevate Another object .is to provide means whereby the carriage will rotation of a hand crank. According to the design illustrated the operator 0 crates the crank forward until it is definite y arrested but the amount of forward movement. of the carriage will depend upon whether the mechanism is adjusted for laying stretch ers or headers. A lost motion mechanism is involved, and one of the objects of theinvention is to construct a lost' motion mechanism suitable for the-purpose. Another object is to provide a'mortar spreader and this also involves lost motion mechanism and difi'erentialmechanism so that spond: with the amountwhich thecarriage advances for laying a brick. Another ob-v ject is to provide a portable crate in which a fresh supplyof bricks may be brought to the machine.- One of my objects isfto make a crate of this kind which is collapsible so as to occupy a small compass when not in use. Another object is to provide gripper means for temporarily supporting for each stretcher in those caseswhere the.

wise of ithei wall taken Figure 2 a sectional elevation on the hne 2-2, Figure 1, certain parts being piroken away to better reveal the construc- Figure 3 is a plan sectional detail a. the

hne 3-3 Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a general line 4'4 Fi re 1.

Figure 51s a sectional elevation on the line 55-Fi 4.

line 6'-6 Figure4.

Fi re 7 's a sectional elevation on the line -7-F1gure' 4. 7

Figure 8 is chiefly in side elevation. It

in changed'position. v v r I Figure 9 is similar to F' 7 e 8 but shows the parts in still another anged position. Figure 10 is a sectional elevation crosswise of the wall, the section being taken on line 101Q. Figure 6. 1

Figure 12is a sectionaleleirationcrossp on theline 12-12 Figure 4. 7

base of the mam column support; The plane of section 1313 Figure 1.

' Figure 14 is an enlarged detail of the skipt e left portion of Figure 10 and elsewhere. 1

. Figure 15 is a sectional elevation on the line 15,-15 Figure 14.

Figure 16 is an enlarged detail cross section on the line 16.-16 of Figure 4.

Figure 17 is a sectional elevation on the line 17-17 Figure. 16.

Figures 18 and 19 are diagrammatic viewsillustrating the operation of the gripping and setting mechanism. Figure 18' shows accompanying drawings plan section on the.

Figure 6 is asectionalelevatioh on the Figure 13 'is 'a plan section showing the pin mechanism and associated parts shown all but the lowermost brick in the brick at i is similar to Figure 6 but showsthe parts v F gure 11 is a sectional elevation cross- 1 wise of the "wall on the line 1111 Figure the amount of mortar spread will corre- 6 1 is indicated by. the-line the operation of laying the stretchers, and

Figure 19 shows the operation of laying the stretchers with the headers.

Like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views.

Speaking generally, according to the design selected to illustrate the invention the machine has a stationary main frame adapted to be secured to the floor joists or other part of the building. On this main frame there is a carrier frame which is vertically adjustable and is provided with tracks on which the brick-setting carriage travels along the wall. In the illustrations the wall 1 is three bricks wide, this being known as a 12 inch wall. The joists 2 are supported in the wall in the ordinary manner, see especially Figures 1 and 2.

Referring now to my invention more specifically: resting upon the joists at a slight distance inside the wall and parallel to it is a rectangular frame work shown in detail in Figure 13 and comprising angle irons 4, 4. This frame is bolted to the joists by hookbolts 6 or other appropriate means (see Figuresl and 2). Resting upon the base frame 4 are uprights or columns 8 which are braced by suitable braces 10.

The vertically adjustable carrier frame, best shown in Figures 1 and 2, has uprights 12 connected at the base by a horizontal track bar 14. At the upper end of each upright is a stationary arm 16 which projects out over the wall and is braced by means of'a bar 18. A horizontal track 20 is supported on the carrier frame by means of hangers 22.

Vertical lift mt0het.llear the foot of each upright 12 are guides 24 which engage the sides of the columns 8 'for guiding the carrier frame vertically. Anti-friction rollers 25 are provided for rolling upon the -outer surface of the columns. Rigidly secured to the'upper end of each upright 12 is a secondguide 26 having an anti-fric tion roller 28 for traveling on the inner surface of the columns 8 when the carrier frame is 'adjusted vertically. Anti-friction rollers .30 are provided at the lower guide 24 for traveling upon the outer face of the column. The position of the carrier frame is controlled vertically by ratchet mechanism, which will now be described. It has a bracket 32 riveted or otherwise secured to the upright 12. At the inner end this bracket has a pawl 34 which engages a ratchet 36 fastened to one of the flanges of the column 8. A lever 38 is fastened to the bracket by means of a pivot pin 40; Near its inner end this lever has a pawl 42 which also engages the ratchet bar 36. The

lever has a socket 44 for receiving the end of a handle bar (not shown) by which the lever may be rocked about its pivot. It will be evident that by oscillating the lever about its fulcrum the bracket 32 will be caused to climb step by step upward on the column, thus raising the carrier frame for laying the successive courses of brick. The carriaga 'lhe carriage contains the mechanism for setting the brick. It has a framework in which the parts are mounted, the same being best shown in Figures 1 and 2. The carriage frame includes four corner bars 46 and various horizontal connecting members 48. At the top the frame has trolley wheels 50 which support it and travel upon the lower flange of the track bar 20. At the bottom the carriage has rollers 52 which have their axes arranged vertically and travel upon the track 14 previously mentioned.

The forward feed mecham'sm.The carriage is caused to travel forward along the wall by means of manually-operated mechanism which will now be described: Slidingly mounted upon horizontal members 49 at the bottom of the carriage are two racks 54 best shown in Figures 1, 4, 7, 10 and 12. These racks run parallel with the wall and in use the carriage is adjusted to such elevation that they will lie a slight distance above the wall. Meshing with each rack is a gear 56 mounted upon the shaft 58. This shaft is carried in bearings 60 fastened to two of the horizontal members 48 as shown, for example, in Figure 10. At the end of shaft- 58 is a sprocket wheel 62 which cooperates with a chain 64. This chain passes over a sprocket 66, shown in Figures 1 and 2. The sprocket is rotatably supported by a bracket 68 fastened to one of the uprights 46. It is rotated by means of hand crank 7 0. When the crank 70 is rotated in clockwise direction, Figure 1, the carriage, generally speaking, will be moved forward, but as the amount of forward movement needs to be difierent for laying stretchers from what they do for laying headers a lost motion device has been provided which will now he described: Pro- 119 jecting from the side of the inner rack bar 54 is abracket 72, the outer end of which has a boss 7 4 which slides freely upon a horizontal pull rod 7 6. (See Figs. 4, 5 and elsewhere. This rod has two collars? 8, 79 adjustably secured to it by means of set screws 80. At the right end of the rod is a clutch mechanism or friction ratchet which includes an arm 82, which has a jaw adapted to engage the outer flange of the track bar 14.

It is secured to the pull rod by means of a thimble 83 and pivot pin 84. A tension spring 85 tendsnormally to hold the arm 82 obliquely, in gripping position, as shown in Figure, 5. A stop 86 prevents the arm from rotating to the opposite oblique posi- -tion to thereb prevent it from gripping the track bar in the wrong direction. The result of this construction is that when the rod 7 6 is moved toward the right it will relinquish its gripfrom the track bar and move forward along it, but it will not move in the opposite direction because it will grip the bar. The action is this: When the operator rotates the hand crank 7 0 in clockwise direction Figure 1 it will cause the gear 56 to rotate in clockwise direction and thus cause the rack bars 54 to move toward the left until the tappet arm or bracket 72 comes into contact with the collar 78 toward the left end of the pull rod 76. As the pull rod cannot move toward the left on account of the gripping action of the arm 82 on the bar 14 the subsequent rotation of the hand cran'kwill force the carriage forward until it is stopped by the uprights 46 at the left end of the car riage coming into contact with shoulders 88- formed on the rack bars near the left end as shown in Figure 4. The collars 78, 79 are so adjusted on the pull rod that the amount which the brick-setting carriage will move forward will be equal to the extent of the brick plus the amount of mortar between bricks. By adjusting the collar 78 the movement will be proper for stretchers 'or headers, as the case may be. After'this forward movement has been completed the operator rotates the crank handle 70 in the opposite direction and shifts the racks 54 forward, and after a certain amount of lost motion the bracket-72 will contact the forward collar 79 and advance the pull rod to a fresh forward position. The forward movement of the racks will continue until the shoulders 88 on their forward ends engage the forward uprights 46 (see lower left corner of Figure 4).

B1"ick magazine Speaking generally, the brick-setting carriage has a magazine for the bricks and means for alternately retaining and releasing the bricks to deposit them in the wall.

The magazine has a number of compartments corresponding to the number of bricks to be laid at any one action. .It consists of a stationary part which is mounted on the carriage and a removable upper part or crate. When one crate is empty a fresh loaded one will be substituted. To now describe these parts more in detail let it be assumed that the bricks will belaid lengthwise of the wall three at a time. This scheme is shown diagrammatically in Figure 18 and a vertical section is shown in Figure 6.

The crate is collapsible consisting of two frames 89 shown in Figures 1 and 2. At the ends these frames are connected by toggle links 90 which are pivoted to the frame and also to a center controlling rod 92 by pulling up on the center red when the crates are not in use. The two frames 89 will come together, thus collapsing the crate. When they are lowered. and the toggle links are straightened as in Figure 1 the crate will be expanded ready to receive the brick. When and associated partsrthe crate is loaded and in position to discharge its contents into the stationary part of the magazine it is supported upon angle irons 94 which rest upon brackets 98 carried At the lower end the crate has flanges 103 for interfitting with the top of the stationary part of the magazine, that is, the magazine proper.-. This magazine has external walls 102 with removable partitions 104 shown in section in Figure 18.

There are two gripper arms 106, 107 for each brick in each compartment and these operate through suitable apertures in the walls of the magazine. The gripper arms 106 are rigidly fastened to a rock shaft 108 and the gripper arms 107 are rigidly fastened to a. rock shaft 109. These shafts are connected by means of a link 110 which connects levers lll'which are fastened tosaid rock shafts and cause them to rotate simultaneously in opposite directions. The gripper arms have cushion heads shownin detail in Figures 14 and 15. A contact plate 11-2 faces and engages the brick. Fastenedto itis a stem 114, which is slidingly mounted at the free end of each gripper arm 107.

An arch spring 116 is interposed between the plate 112 and the gripper arm. This gives a cushioning effect to take care of any inequalities in the bricks.

The mortar spreader.Before describing the means for operating the brick grippers I will describe the means by which the mortar is spread upon the top of the wall The mortar is contained in a hopper 118. It is supplied by means of a removable container 120 shown in Figure 1. At the bottom it has a flat spreading nozzle 122 which rides just above the previously laid course of brick. The mortar is ejected by means of a plate 124 which is hinged at its upper edge on a cross bar 126, as shown in Figures 4 and 6. It is backed up by across head 128 which is secured to pusher rods 130 which are arranged parallel to each other and project out through the back of the mortar spreader. The advantage'of this pivotal suspension of the ejector plate is that it will stand rigid when it is ejecting, but on the wey back, when moving toward the right Figure 6, it will ride over any mortar that may be present and leave it where it is. In order that it may be brought to acting position at the end of its return journey preparatory to injecting a fresh charge of the mortar the pivotally suspended plate 124 is pro- '49 in the carrier frame.

vided with a lug 132, which will strike the wall of the hopper when the ejector is in initial position, and return the plate to acting position, as illustrated.

Mortar ejecting operating mclzanism.-

The rods 130 previously mentioned are conto pin 142. These elements form part of a lost motion mechanism similar to the one employed for advancing the carriage. Pull rod 144 has on it two collars 146, 147 which are slidable on the rod but are normally held in adjusted position by set screws 148. A tappet arm 150 has a boss 152 which freely slides upon the rod and is fastened to one of the rack bars 54. The mortar spreading mechanism operates as follows: When the operator first turns the crank arm in in clockwise direction the rack bars 54 move toward the left and consequently the tappet arm 150 will slide along the pull rod 144 and produce no elfect until the tappet reaches the collar 147 at the left. This occurs simultaneously with the tappet 72 reaching the collar 78. Thereupon the carriage begins to move forward toward the right. moving the mortar hopper 118 with it. The ejector 124 is, however, prevented from moving as fast as the hopper, and the result is that a relative movement is produced which tends to eject'the mortar. Thus a differential movement is set up, and it is this differential movement which produces the ejection of theimortar. The retarding of the ejector comes from the fact that while the pin 142 is moving forward at the same rate as the hopper the opposite end of the lever is at the time held stationary by the tappet 150 and the cap screw 136 is closer to the pin 139 than it is to the pin 142. Thus the ejector is not permitted. to move forward as fast as the carriage and the consequence is that the mortar is gradually ejected. V

Brick-setting mokam'sm.1 will next describe the mechanism by which the bricks are'removed from the magazine and set in final position in the wall. A pusher 154 shown in Figures 4. 6 and elsewhere is fastened to rods 156 which operate it. At their forward end (at the right Figure 4) the rods are connected by lugs 158 to plates 160 which are screwed or otherwise fastened to the rack bars 54. Thus the pusher moves horizontally in synchronism with the rack bars. As the pusher. moves backwards 5 (toward the left) it will engage a brick at lowermost brick moves forward (towards the left) it will simultaneously commence to move downward due to the increasing obliquity of the links. This movement of the brick finally brings it onto a reciprocating conveyor 168 which is provided with rollers 169 which roll upon the flanges of the bars 49. -The brick is shown upon the conveyor. in Figure 8, although the parts are shown in a position presently to be described. This preliminary movement of the pusher occurs independently of any move ment of the conveyor, but when a brick has become seated in the conveyorthe pusher and the conveyor will thereafter move in unison. The rollers 169 support jack shafts 170 which in turn support the carriage as shown in Figure 12 and elsewhere. forward shafts (at the right) project through slots 172 formed at'the rear end of the plate 160 as shown, for example, in Figure 7. It is evident that when the plates have traveled forward until the shaft is at the forward end of the slot the plate and the brick conveyor will thereafter move in unison. This rearward -movement of the brick and pusher will continue untilv arms 174, which are formed on the plates 160 and project upwards therefrom, engage and operate tappets 176, forming a part of brick-clamping mechanism which will now be described.

The tappets are rigidly fastened to a frame 178 which is suspended by toggle links 180, 181. The upper toggle link 180 is suspended upon a frame 182 which is stationary with respect to the brick-setting device. The brick-setting device is. however, movable as a whole, being suspended upon links 184 (see especially Figures 6, 7 and 8). Links 184 are pivoted upon a shaft 186 can ried by the element. 46 of the cariage while the other links are pivoted on studs 188 at the lower end of a bracket 190. These The links normally stand in an oblique position as shown in Figures 6, 7 and 8. At the lower end the links support a frame 192 which is arranged horizontally and to'which are pivoted the lower end 'of the toggle links 181, above 'mentioned.

. The frame 192 has four uprights 194 which are shown in detail in Figures 16 and 17 and which support the frame 182 previously mentioned. The lower ends of the links 181 above mentioned are pivotally connected to bars 196. These, bars are vertically movable and are guided at the ends by the cams 220.

ides 198 shown in plan in Figure 4. esting upon thebars 196 are compression springs 200 upon which rest the upper ends of clamps 202 which engage the bricks during the final setting operation. The clamps are apertured at their upper end to accommodate upstanding pins 204 for keeping the springs and: associated parts assembled.

The clamps 202 are fulcrumed upon pins- 206 which are mounted in suitable hearings on the base frame 192. These are split bearings, having removable caps 208 to permit the bearing pins 206 to be lifted out so that certain of the clamps may be removed when headers are being laid.

The machine is also equipped with lateral pushers for the bricks as best illustrated in Figures 4, 9, 11, 18 and 19. These are for finally bringing .the bricks into proper alinement along the v wall. These pushers 210 have prongs 212 which rest upon and are guided by thebase frame 192.

They are provided with guide pins 214 which slide in bearings 216 as shown in section at the right end of Figure 11. 'Compression springs 218 surround the guide pins and are interposed between the bearings 216 and lateral pusher-s 210. These lateral pushers are rounded as shown in Figures 18 and 19 for engaging the edge of Said cams are riveted or otherwise secured to the side frames 49 as shown in Figure 11. This brick-setting device operates as follows: As the arm 174 moves towards the left, Figures 6,and 7,

' it comes into contact with the tappet 176 and moves the latter toward the left. This moves the frame 17 8 towards the left which flexes the links 180.181. The result is that the lower links 181 move the bars 196 upward and these in turn rotate the clamps 202 about their pivots 206 causing the clamps to engage the sides of the bricks. Thereupon the latches 222 which are pivoted to the frames 182 as shown in detail in Figure 17 drop their detents 224 behind stops 2% at the upper end of the links 180 and thereafter hold the clamps in acting position. At the same time the brick-setting device is caused to swing backward and downward as the suspending links 184 swing downward. and as this movement occurs the lateral pushers 210 ride along the cams 220 and move the outer bricks laterally into alinement, as shown, for example, in Figure 18. This mechanism not only alines the bricks but serves the additional purpose of crowding up some of the mortar between the bricks for more completely imbedding them.

Brick-stopping yneclzanism.-T have provided means for limiting the backward movement of the bricks and preventing overthrow or excess movement as the conveyor 168 moves thernbackward toward finalposition. This stop is shown in Figures 8 and 9. and indetail in Figures'16 and 17. It is a vertically arranged plate 228 which extends across the backof the brick-setting device and is guided by. vertical slots 230 which accommodates pins 232- which are screwed into the flanges of the base frame 192. This stop is vertically movable in order that it may be lifted out of theway after it has performed its stopping function.

It is shown in down position in Figures 16* and 17. It is raised at the proper time b means of bell-crank extensions 234 whic pro ect into slots 236 at the ends of the plate. The extensions-234 form projections,

from the links 184 from which the bricksetting device is suspended, as previously described. The parts are so related that when the bricks are received the stop plate 228 is down and limits their backward movement, and then as the brick-setting device swingsdownward and backward the stop gradually rises out of the way.

the conveyor 168 moves them to final position in the wall, both longitudinally and laterally. .I will now describe the mechanism which causes the brick-setting device to operate. It has been explained that the base plate 192 is suspended upon links 184. The base frame is caused to swing upon these links by means of connectin rods 238 which extend from the forward en of the frame to one-way levers 240, shown in Figures 6 to 9. These levers are fulcrumed upon studs 242 and are constantly urged to rotate in clockwise direction by tension springs 244. Stops 246 limit the extent to which these levers can rotate. Mounted upon these levers are triggers 248 which are suspended from and freely rotatable upon the studs at'the side of the levers. Each trigger has an upstandin finger 250 adapted to engage a stop 252 w en rotated in counter clockwise direction. These stops project from the side of the levers 240 and hence when the triggers rotate in counter clockwise direcint ' consequently when the rack bars 54 and plates 160 move toward the right from the position shown in Figure'9 the levers 240 will be rotated in a direction to set the brick, but when moved in the op osite direction willbe without effect upon t e brick-setting device. As soon as the pins pass the points of the triggers and release them, as md1- cated in dotted lines in Figure 9, the springs 244 will restore the elements of the bricksetting device to their normal relation as shown in Figure 6.

This forward movement (towards. the right) is'of course caused by the operator rotating the hand crank 70 in the negat ve direction, that is, counter clockwise, Flgure 1. This negative rotation of the hand crank is commenced after the brick has been clamped in the setting device. This negative rotation of the hand crank produces a corresponding otation of the gear 56 and a forward right movement of the rack bar 54 and attached parts. On account of the lost motion between the-plate 160 and the jack shafts 170 (see Figures 6 and 7) the conveyor 168 does not move forward at first, but as soon as the lost motion is taken up, the conveyor moves forward to initial position near the brick magazine 102, near the position shown in Figure 9. The machine is now ready for the bricks in the' magazine to drop down so as tolower another brick onto the temporary platform 162. This lowering is accomplished by causing the gripper arms 106, 107 to swing away from the brick. This in turn is accomplished by means of a pin 257 projecting from the inside of one of the connecting rods 238 and located in position to engage a lever 259 rigidly fastened to the rock shaft 109 on which the gripper arms 107 are fastened. This releasing motion istransmitted to the gripper arm 106 through the links 110.

Operation-The operation of the component mechanisms has been described. In general the program is this: Let it be. assumed that the parts are in the position shown in Figures 4', 5 and 6. The operator first rotates the hand'crank -in cloek'wise direction which moves the rack bars 54 and end pusher backward, toward the left. After a certain amount of lost motion the rack bars 54 are arrested, after which the' carriage moves forward under the action of the continued forward rotation of the hand crank. The brick-setting device now turned to a position to engage a fresh brick.' '-D uring this timelthe mortar ejeef .-tor"l24ihas. been operating and spreading 'i' i the mortar upon the wall. During this period, also, the bricks in the magazine are released and permitted to drop down onto the temporary platform 162 preparatory to a repetition of the cycle. 7 I

Skz'ppz'ng Mechanisms-Thus far I have described the machine as laying; three stretchers side by side. At times, however, it is necessary to lay headers also, and I will now describe the mechanism by which this ma be acomplished. riefl when headers and stretchers are to be laid simultaneously it is necessary to lay two headers, for every stretcher, and I have provided skipping mechanism by which a stretcher. will be laid only at each alternate action. Tol understand the skipping mechanism attention is called particularly to Figure 19.- In preparation I remove one of the partitions 104 (see Figure 18) and. in its stead place a partition 256. This has a cross plate 258 provided with two bosses 260 in which stems 262 are freel slidable. These stems have heads 264 which abut springs 266. These constantly urge the stems towards the left. At the inner ends the stems have inner gripper plates 268. Pressing against the heads 264 are the contact plates 112 previously mentioned. They are backed up by the arch springs 116, and gripper arms 107 previously described. The parts numbered 258 to 268 constitute extensions to the grippers originally described.

In laying headers in a three-brick wall the process with this machine is first to lay except the means must be provided for-preventing every alternate releasing action of the grippers which act on the strecher brick. The mechanism provided for this purpose will now be described. Briefly the skipping mechanism comprises auxiliary armsforoperating the regular gripper arms, a skipping ratchet and an eccentric by which the auxiliary arms are caused tooperate I only once. each alternate cycle. Referring especially to Figures 6', 10, 14 and 15, two auxiliary arms 258, 27 4 are mounted on rock shafts 262 located on opposite sides of the magazines. These rock shafts are mounted in brackets 284 projecting from the sides of the magazine. The arms are provided with set screws 260 which back up the gripratchet wheel.

18 to the acting zone shown in Figure 19.

The two rock shafts 262 are caused to operate simultaneously in opposite directions by a connecting rod 272 which is connccted to arms 270 which project from said shafts.

Referring now to the mechanism shown in detail in Figures 14 and 15 which operates the rock shaft 262 located at the left of the magazine; a lever 268 projects from said shaft and engages aneccentric 278. This eccentric is loosely mounted upon shaft 58 which is fastened to the operating gears 56, previously described. This eccentric is integral with a ratchet 276 which has two teeth which cooperate with a pawl 271. Said pawl is mounted upon a stud 273 mounted on the side of one of the gears 56. A spring 275 urges the pawl towards the In order to prevent reverse motion and overthrow, the eccentric has an extension 280 in the form of a sleeve which is engaged by brake band 282 mounted on the adjacent bracket 284. The brake band 282 may have its tension regulated by an adjusting screw 286. The parts 276, 278 and 280 are confined in the proper position upon shaft 58 by a collar 286.

In operation, the gear 56 rotates one-half revolution for every normal cycle. It is then rotated back to initial position by the operator. Inasmuch as the gear wheel operates the pawl 270 and this. in turn operates the ratchet 276 and the latter has only two-teeth, it follows that the eccentric 278 will complete its rotation only once in two complete cycles. It is this eccentric which sets the grippers, which engage the bricks in the magazine. Therefore the grippers acting upon the stretcher will be permitted to release a stretcher brake only once for each alternate cycle of operation.

. From the foregoing it will be evident that,

in laying a course of bricks all that the operator has to dois to rotate the hand crank first in one direction and then in the opposite direction to complete a cycle. During this cycle not only will themortar and brick be set but the carriage will be advanced to a new position and lay the next brick. Thus the action is substantially automatic throughout. After one course of bricks has been laid the operator simply operates the ratchet mechanism shown near the center of Figure 2 which will elevate the carrier frame and carriage.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A brick-laying machine having a main frame, a carrier frame traveling upon the main frame lengthwise of the wall, means onthe carrier frame for setting the brick, and a ratchet for adjusting the carrier frame vertically for laying successive courses of bricks, said ratchet device including a manually operated rocking member of one of said frames, a ratchet on the other of said frames, arranged vertically, a pawl on the rocking member and a second pawl on the same frameas the rocking member, said pawls being spaced apart fractionally with respect to the teeth in the ratchet.

' 2. A brick-laying machine having a carriage movable lengthwise of the wall, means for supporting the carriage, a magazine on the carriage, means on the carriage for moving bricks from the magazine to set them in the wall, and a crate for supplying bricksto the magazine, said crate being removable and adapted to communicate with said magazine to deliver the bricks thercinto.

3. A brick-laying machine having'a carriage movable lengthwise of the wall, means for supporting the carriage, a magazine on the carriage, means on the carriage for moving bricks from the magazine to set them in the wall, and a crate for supplying bricks to the magazine, said crate being removable and adapted to communicate with said magazine to deliver the bricks thercinto, and said crate being collapsible, being composed of side frames, toggle links connecting said side frames, and a center controlling rod for operating said links.

4. A brick-laying machine having 'a carriage movable lengthwise of the wall, said carriage having a magazine for the bricks, grippers for holding all but the lowermost bricks in the magazine, transferring means for removing the lowermost brick from the magazine, and correlating means for operat ing said grippers and said transferring means in timed relation.

5. A brick-laying machine having a carriage provided with means for setting brick in the wall, a support for the carriage, the

6. A brick-laying machine having a carriage provided with means for setting brick in the wall, a support for the carriage, the

carriage being movable on its support lengthwise of the wall, a rack slidable upon sai support lengthwise of the wall, a stop on the support for limiting the backward movement of the rack, a gear mounted on lengthwise of the wall and having means for setting brick in the wall, a rack slidable upon said frame lengthwise of the wall, a stop for limiting the backward movement of the rack, a one-way clutch cooperating with said frame for preventing the stop from moving backward but permitting it to move forward, and a gear mounted on the carriage and meshing with the rack whereby after the gear has rotated sufiiciently to bring-the rack into engagement with the stop subsequent rotary movement of the gear in the same direction will cause the carriage to moveforward, the carriage being adapted to make one-way contact with said clutch for advancing it and the stop when the carriage moves forward.

8. A brick-laying machine having a frame secured to the wall, a carriage movable lengthwise of the wall and having means for setting bricks in the wall, a hopper mounted on the carriage for containing -mortar, a mortar ejector in said hopper,

means for intermittently moving'the carriage and hopper forward, and means for retarding the movement of the ejector whereby a relative movement between the ejector and the hopper is produced to thereby eject mortar as the carriage advances.

9. A brick laying machine having a carriage movable lengthwise of thewall, the carriage having a magazine for the bricks, means for releasing the lowermost brick at intervals from the magazine, a brick-setting device, a pusher for pushing the lowermost brick from the magazine toward said setting device, and meanscommon to said pusher and to said brick-setting device for operating them in timed relation.

10. A brick laying machine having a brick magazine open at the bottom, gripping mechanism for supporting all but the lowermost brick in the magazine, a platform for temporarily supporting the lowermost brick, upstanding links for supporting said platform whereby when the links are tilted the platform will swing backward and downward for the purpose of relieving the lowermost brick of the frictional contact with the bricks above, and means for controlling said links.

11. A brick laying machine having a brick-setting device, .a brick magazine, mechanism for supporting all 'but the lowermost brick in the magazine,'a conveyor for conveying the lowermost brick to the bricksetting device, and a pusher for pushing the lowermost brick from the magazine onto ,the conveyor.

12. A brick laying -machine having a brick-setting device provided with clamps for engaging the brick, a frame for supportmg the clamps, suspending links for supporting the frame, and means for swinging said links from a position in which they extend obliquely downward and forward, a position in which they will hang more nearly vertical to thereby move the brick position in the wall.- 1

13. A brick laying 'machine having. a brick-setting device provided with clamps for engaging the brick to place it in final position, levers for operating said clamps, a frame for supporting the clamps, means for setting and releasing th clamps, links .for supporting the frame, the frame being downward and backward toward final clamps for each brick in vthe width of the wall, means for moving all ofsaid clamps simultaneous downward and backward, and other means operating in timedrelation therewith for simultaneously forcing theoutermost clamps inward toward. the central airilsl of the wall for alining the brick in the wa 15. A brick laying machine I having a brick-setting device comprising a pair of clamps for each brick in the widthof the wall, the outermost clamps being laterally movable, a frame for supporting said clamps, means for moving said frame downward and rearward for setting the bricks in final position in the wall, and cams for simultaneously forcing the outermost clamps inward toward the center line of the wall to thereby bring the bricks into proper alinement in the wall,

16. In a brick laying machine a brick-setting device having clamps for engaging the bricks at times, a frame on which said clamps are mounted, pairs of links con nected to the clamps for setting them against the brick, one end of a pair of links being fastened to the frame, and the other end being connected to the clamps, the links when straight causing the clamps to release the bricks and when flexed causing them to engage them, and means for controlling said links.

17. A brick laying machine having a main frame, a carriage traveling intermittently on said frame 1n a forward direction, a brick-setting device mounted on the carriage, clamps on the brick-setting device for engaging and releasing the brick to 'be set, links for setting and releasing said clamps, means partly on the main frame and partly on the carriage for operating said clamps as a result of the forward movement of the carriage, a latch for locking the clamps in set position, the brick-setting device being movable lengthwise in the wall relatively to the rest of the carriage, and means partly upon the carriage and partly upon the brick setting device for controlling said latch.

18. A brick laying machine having a carriage for carrying a supply of brick, a bricksetting device on the carriage, a brick magazine, means for transferring the bricks from the magazine to the setting device, a stop for limiting the backward movement of a brick as it enters the setting device, the setting device being longitudinally movable relatively to the carriage for sliding the brick backward in the wall after it has been received in the setting device, and means partly on the carriage and partly on the brick-setting device for operating said stop in timed relation with the movement of the setting device relatively to the carriage.

19. A brick laying machine having a magazine for containing at least three bricks crosswise of the wall, said magazine having removable partitions whereby headers may be laid as well as stretchers, gripping mechanism for supporting the pile of bricks in the magazine when the lowermost brick is being removed to be set in the wall, the magazine being movable forward intermittently as the bricks are laid, a main frame for supporting the magazine, means partly on the main frame and partly on the magazine for operating said gripplng mechanism, and skipping mechanism for preventing the gripping mechanism from releasing the stretchers except at the alternate movements of the carriage.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOHN THOMSON. 

